


SCdC - Holiday Senshi

by Spoofie



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Holiday Senshi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-07 12:45:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16854214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spoofie/pseuds/Spoofie
Summary: Decking the halls gets an all new meaning when a new history teacher comes to Juuban High School so soon after the death of the previous history teacher. Also a mysterious new transfer student who gives everyone the cold shoulder arrives in class. Watch and see as Holiday Senshi collide and surprizes appear around every corner. Celebrate the holidays, Senshi style!





	1. Dream of Winter Vacation! The Soldier of Christmas Appears!

# Prologue

Within the modest one bedroom house, a man sat up straight in the dining room chair, his eyes stared unfocused on the carving knife held out before him.

"Prove to me that you are a man of your word. You said you would kill for me. Well, now I'm asking you to kill. Submit your will and kill yourself. Don't, and I have ways of making you wish you did. Those other ways are less pleasant of course." said a voice that belonged to a shadowed female figure. Her orchid colored eyes pierced the gaze of the man before her.

"Yes, ma...master." the man stuttered as the effects of the shadowed woman's gaze took hold of him. Grabbing the proffered knife, the man blindly stabbed and slashed at his own body to do the woman's bidding.

Within very little time, the man's body lay on the floor as the shadowed figure watched as the last of his lifeblood left his body. The shadowed figure smiled wickedly and left the scene with a sense of satisfaction.

 

* * *

 

 

_**Chapter One:** _

# Dream of Winter Vacation! The Soldier of Christmas Appears!

"...In other news a series of random suicides are popping up in the area of Azabu Juuban, in Tokyo, Japan." said the news castor as a close-up map filled the TV screen. A series of X's dotted the map to show where the bodies were found. The news castor continued with the leading story, "Authorities claim that these are completely random, but there are speculations of a possible cult..."

Silence fell as the TV was turned off.

"Oh, dear. Isn't that the location of the Sailor Soldiers?" said a red-head as she looked over at a plump, elderly couple as they nodded in agreement. "Mama, Papa, I believe it's time that I took my leave of you."

They stood up and the red-head walked over to the couple with whom she had lived with for many years. They weren't really her parents. Far from it. For in all actuality, she was several years their senior but looked all of twenty-one. They smile and hugged.

"Must you go? It's going to be very busy shortly." said the elderly man.

"Oh Papa," said his wife with a chuckle. "You've got me and the helpers to aid you on your way."

He laughed full heartedly and replied, "You're right, Mama. But still, it seems so much easier with our friend here...."

The red-head smiles and chuckled. "My friend, there will be other nights in other years for me to help you. But there's another group that needs me more. For now, I must bid adieu. Goodbye, Santa. Tell Rudolph and the others that I'm sorry to miss this year's ride."

She then put on her hooded cloak and walked out the door, into a light snow storm. With the abilities and stamina of the Sailor Soldier powers she was endowed with, the red-head took large leaps on her way towards Japan.

Santa looked at his wife and sighed.

"It's a long way from here to Japan, Mama."

"It sure is Papa. But what can we do about it? The reindeer are too busy limbering up for this year's ride or I'm sure we'd be able to lend her one of them."

"Don't we have a spare sleigh? You remember, Mama? The one that is collecting dust..."

"Yes, we do. But the fact still remains that there are no available reindeer to pull it."

"Oh. Right."

"Besides, where she's going it'd seem a bit odd to have a sleigh pulled by reindeer going down the streets."

They sigh and both look towards the horizon in the direction where their red-headed friend went.

"Hey Santa!" a new voice called out.

Santa turned and saw Dasher leading two Clydesdale horses towards him.

"Clydesdale horses? In this area of the world? How on Earth did they get here?" asked Santa's wife.

"Mama, you read my mind. Dasher, what's going on?"

"These two here have come a long way to aid and guide our red-headed friend in her travels. They can, in essence, fly like we reindeer can, but...hey, where is she?"

"Something came up and she had to go. I fear for the worst because we couldn't spare any reindeer for the second sleigh that's collecting dust."

"Well then," Dasher said to the two Clydesdale horses. "You two came in just about the nick of time. If we can get you hitched up quick enough, then she should be only reaching the edge of the North Pole boundaries when you find her. Uh, you two can find her, right?"

The two Clydesdales nodded and neighed. In two blinks of an eye and a shake of a tail, the sleigh looked good as new again. The Clydesdales were then hitched up and on their way.

 

* * *

 

The bell rang, signaling the start of the final class of the day. The students sat in their seats and waited for Kurasu-sensei to appear. Even Tsukino Usagi, who was normally always late, was on time. Minutes passed, and the students began to be concerned. Kurasu-sensei was never late to class before. As if on cue, the principal walked in with grief written on his face.

"Class, it brings me great sadness to say this, but it must be said. On Saturday morning, Kurasu-sensei was found dead at his house. There is a reason to believe it was suicide, but it isn't confirmed."

The class as a whole gasped at the news. The students murmured amongst themselves. The shocking news practically slammed into Usagi. Tears streamed from her eyes.

_'Kurasu-sensei is gone? How? Why? He seemed so happy on Friday.'_

The principal looked at the students and weakly smiled. He then motioned at the person outside the door. A six foot tall, red-headed woman walked in gracefully. Usagi and her classmates looked in awe. Something about the new person temporarily snapped her out of her blue funk.

 _'She is so tall. Even taller than Mako-chan...almost as tall as Mamo-chan...'_ Usagi thought.

She looked over at Makoto, who shared the same classes this year. Makoto looked back at Usagi and nodded. They were thinking just about the exact same thing. They both went back to looking at the newcomer.

"And now, class, I would like to introduce your new history sensei, Merrie Khriste Massu."

The students stood up and bowed.

"Hello, Khriste-sensei," they said in unison.

"Hello, students. I am truly sorry to have come at such a sad occasion. If any of you feel like you need to talk about it, I'll be here for a while after class is done for the day."

The principal took his leave as the students sat down.

"Now, as for today's agenda, I was thinking that maybe you all can introduce yourselves and tell me what projects you were currently working on for this class. Does anyone want to go first or shall I randomly choose someone to go first?"

A few students, including Usagi and Makoto, rose their hands. Khriste-sensei pointed at Makoto. Makoto stood up.

"I am Kino Makoto..." Makoto started introducing herself.

By the time the last bell rang, Khriste-sensei had learned the student's names and found that the current history subject was about the Second Crusade that was waged in Lebanon in the late 1100s. Makoto had to tug on one of Usagi's ponytails to keep her from falling asleep as Khriste-sensei put in her two cents worth about what happened during that time period.

After class, a few students, including Makoto and Usagi, actually took Khriste-sensei up on her offer to lend a listening ear. Before the two friends left, Khriste-sensei smiled and winked with a knowing gesture.

 _'Weird! It's like if she could read our minds or knew our other identities or something.'_ Makoto thought and later told Usagi who quickly agreed that she got the same feeling.

 

* * *

 

In a corner booth in the Fruit Parlor, that was above the Crown Arcade, Luna and Artemis sat in with Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako. They were holding a study session and also talking about the new history teacher.

"Could she really be able to do such a thing?" Makoto asked the cat advisors.

"Doubtful...But still, I wonder why that name seems to ring a bell. Oooh...it's like my memory is clouded over...something tells me that name was important in the past, but why is hard to tell right now." Luna said, swishing her tail.

"It's strange..." Artemis started to say.

Before Artemis could finish his thought, the breaking of one of the large windows caught the attention of everyone in the parlor. Standing there in front of the now broken window was a male with semi-short cropped blue hair, blood red eyes, gauntlets and a white one-piece sleeveless outfit that could only be described as something resembling Greek attire but with a rounded out lemon-yellow sailor collar and little mosquitoes embroidered on the thin bronze stripe near the skirted hemline. He was also barefooted, yet hadn't a single scratch on him from the broken glass.

The crowd of customers and employees started to panic as the unidentified man started upturning tables and chairs. There was nothing that the five girls could do. It had been a little over a year since their last transformation, and still, there was the fact that they couldn't let others in on their other identities.

"Everyone, get these people out of here!" Luna exclaimed to the girls.

"Right!" they said in unison.

 

* * *

 

As Khriste rode home in her sleigh, a smile of contentment sprawled on her face. If her senses were correct, which most of the time they were, she may have just found out something in her new history class. She wasn't certain, but in time all would come together like pieces of a puzzle. She pulled her hooded cloak closer to her body as she lightly tugged at the reigns. A sudden chill went down Khriste's spine.

"Oh gosh, another one?" she asked quietly.

She urged the horses to go faster as she lifted the hood of the cloak over her head. Even though the street was devoid of any onlookers, she waited until after the horses took off before shouting out a five-word magical phrase.

 

* * *

 

"This guy is tough. It'd be easier to blast him, then try to move the stuff away from the door to get everyone out of here." Makoto said to the others barely over a whisper.

"But you can't just let your identities be revealed... Even if it is to a small group." Artemis said.

"I can't get a good fix on him on my mini-computer," Ami said in frustration while typing furiously.

"Whomever he is, he's definitely a really big pest..." Minako said with a scowl on her face.

The enemy picked up another table and flung it at the girls. Before it could reach them, however, a wreath shot through the air and crashed into the table, stopping it in its tracks. That attracted the enemy's attention, plus that of the five girls. All of the other patrons were either trying to frantically move the rubble out of the way or were too frozen with fright to really notice the new arrival.

"Oh, dear. I suppose I'll have to pay for that table now." said a new, yet disembodied voice.

"Who're you?" the enemy asked, looking around for the source of the voice.

Suddenly as if by magic, a new Sailor Soldier appeared. She removed a hooded cloak that had poinsettias embroidered around the hemline and tossed it aside. Then she shook her short-cropped red hair and smiled.

"Guided by the shining light, Northern Star, I am the joyful sailor suited soldier, Sailor Christmas. On behalf of the hopes and joys of the Christmas season, I'll put an end to those who do harm to others. Prepare to see the light!"

"Ooh, another pest to squash!" the enemy said with an evil chuckle.

"Not this time you don't, nor ever! Poinsettia Petal Dance!"

The attack, which consisted of poinsettia petals, swirled around Sailor Christmas before being directed at the enemy. The five girls watched as the poinsettia petals knock the enemy around, some of the petals even cut into his flesh.

That within itself only made the enemy angrier. Energy balls formed around his fists. The energy balls took the form of insecticide spray bottles. With the anger built up within him, he grasped his hands tightly around the necks of the bottles.

"Pesticite Spr..."

"Hold it!" shouted Sailor Christmas as she let loose another wreath and knocked the spray bottles out of his hands. "Don't you realize we're in an enclosed building? If you spray in here, then you're likely to harm yourself as well as your targets!"

"Uhm, Pesticite think not. You just made it good for Pesticite. Pesticite leave now and let you see what happens when those break." he sneered. He hurled an energy bolt at the spray bottles and took a running leap out of the broken window. As he disappeared from sight, he evilly laughed and said, "Pesticite go bye-bye!"

The two spray bottles exploded and let out a noxious liquid. As soon as the liquid touched the floor, toxic fumes started rising. Barely able to have any time to think, Sailor Christmas spotted the two cats who started to cough as they were closer to the floor. She grabbed them and wrapped them in her cloak while holding them with one arm in a protective manner. With her free hand, she gathered another wreath and broke through the rubble so that everyone could escape.

She noticed how five girls were trying to help the other patrons out the doors. She smiled for a brief second and then remembered the liquid. Holding the cats as close as possible to her body, Sailor Christmas grabbed her cloak, took a running leap out of the window and disappeared into the sunset.


	2. Usagi and Minako's Turmoil! Artemis And Luna's Unexplained Disappearance!

"Are you two okay?" Sailor Christmas asked the two cats as soon as she brought them into the foyer of a ranch house. "What am I doing talking to cats? Oh well, this from a person that talks to horses and reindeer."

Returning to her everyday form of Merrie Khriste Massu, she unwrapped the cats from her cloak and hung it on the coat rack. After changing into her house slippers, she then put Luna and Artemis on a table and checked them over for any signs of illness and almost immediately noticed the crescent moon markings on their foreheads.

"Hmm? What's this? Crescent moon markings? Either you two went through hell when those have been tattooed on, or...." she dramatically paused and gave a knowing smile. "...Luna and Artemis, I'm glad to see you two again. I was hoping that you made it to this time as well."

Luna and Artemis stared blankly at each other and then at her. How had she known their names? Was she really from the past? Why couldn't they remember her?

"I'm not surprised that you don't remember me," she said as if she read their minds. "After all, it did take a while to re-form the Sailor Team after re-birth, right? For all you know at the moment, I might be one of the enemies trying to lure you into a trap. Well, rest assured, I'm not an enemy. Not of the Sailor Soldiers of the Sol System at any rate. In time, everything will be explained, but for now, rest. Who knows what that liquid might have done?"

She then placed the cats on fluffy feather down pillows and let them rest in a sun-warmed section of the building. Artemis stretched and yawned before curling up next to Luna and falling asleep.

 

* * *

 

"Hey, Kashokuno-kun. Did you hear? They already filled Kurasu's position."

"What? Already? That's pushing it a little too fast, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but the school needed a new history teacher and one just happened to be coming to Juuban. You should meet her."

"I just may do that.." the dark-skinned journalism teacher stated as he walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" the other teacher asked.

"To be able to talk with this new teacher, I have to find out where she lives, right? I'm making a pit stop to the main office, then to take a small trip."

"Don't bother...She handed out business cards earlier in case any of the staff needed to talk about Kurasu or whatever. Here..." the teacher said as he handed the card over to Kashokuno Hoshi.

"Thank you," Hoshi said with a faint grin and walked out the door.

 

* * *

 

After making a phone call to the vet, Khriste into some more comfortable clothes and went to the stables to unhitch the sled from the two Clydesdales.

"Nice ride you two. Just wish we were able to stop that Pesticite before the incident at the Crown Parlor." She told the horses as she started to brush one of them down. "On to a different subject, I still have no idea what to call you two. I don't want to just call you the horses and the Clyde and Dale name combo seems a bit over the top, don't you think?"

Both horses nodded in agreement, then turned their heads towards the open door as the sound of footsteps heading towards the main house could be heard. The red-head stopped mid-brush and looked out the door as well. She then put the brush down and glanced at the horses before looking out the door again.

"Either that's one quick vet, or we've got company. I'll be back in a bit, you two," she said as she headed out of the stables. She then called out to the visitor, "I'm over here. So glad you could make it. Those two cats should be looked over soon as possible."

Hoshi turned his head and looked over his shoulder at the owner of the voice. His dark blue hair flowed lightly in the slight breeze.

"What? I think there's some mistake. I'm not a vet, I don't even play one on TV. I'm looking for the new history teacher for Juuban High. I must have come to the wrong house."

"Nope. You found me all right. Anything I can do for you...eh... I'm sorry. I don't believe I caught your name." the redhead paused and bowed apologetically.

"Kashokuno Hoshi," Hoshi said with a slight frown after remembering the real reason as to why he came.

"Pleasure to meet you Kashokuno-san. I am Merrie Khriste Massu. Would you care for something to drink? Some snacks perhaps as we talk?" Khriste said as she motioned toward the wicker bench on the porch.

"No. Thanks for the offer though. I just..." Hoshi paused to think of the right words for how he was feeling at the moment.

"You just hate my guts for taking the former history teacher's place so soon after his death and you feel you just had to vent it out on me."

Hoshi's face flushed a shade or two darker as she practically took the words out of his mouth.

"Well, yes. But I wouldn't have put it in those words."

"It's alright, Kashokuno-san. Feel free to vent all you want. Best to let it all out in the open, else it'll eat at you."

Something told Hoshi that this meeting wasn't going according to how he planned it.

 

* * *

 

"I'm back! Did'ja miss me?" the now very chipper, very female form of Pesticite called out once she entered the formerly abandoned cannery turned hideout of the Four Cites.

"Mind telling us where in the hell you were the past few hours?" replied Genocite as she jumped down from one of the support beams, her long pale gray hair flowing behind her.

"Had to blow off some steam," Pesticite said with a giggle as she ran her left hand through her short cropped blue hair.

"Couldn't your steam blowing happen somewhere other than downtown?" exclaimed Xenocite as he stormed out of the former foreman's office. "The reporters are going crazy with wild theories as to what happened."

"Geez. Sui blows off steam and nobody yells at her. I blow off steam and everybody's acting like I started a major catastrophe." Pesticite sulked.

"You did start a major catastrophe and don't go dragging me into your analogies! We're supposed to be in hiding until we can find our mistress, the Dark Princess. Or did your hormone challenged brain forget that little fact?" Suicite growled as she materialized not more than a foot away from Pesticite's face.

"Enough! This isn't getting us anywhere." Xenocite stated as he placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Pesticite, you're to stay here for the time being."

"Aww...but I wanted to track down that Sailor Christmas girl that ruined my fun," Pesticite whined.

"Who?" Suicite asked incredulously.

"Sailor Christmas. Weird thing to be a soldier of if you ask me."

"We didn't ask you, so shut up already..." Genocite grumbled as she leaned against a metal barrel.

"None the less, we should still be on alert. We have to find our mistress, without delay." Xenocite stated.

 

* * *

 

"You're not what I was expecting Merrie-san," Hoshi said from his position on the overstuffed chair.

"Things are certainly different than all they appear to be, Kashokuno-san. Like the saying goes; never judge a book by its cover." Khriste said with a slight nod from her position on the couch.

After a moment of unsettling silence, a knock on the door caught their attention. Khriste jumped up and headed towards the door.

"Yes?" Khriste said as opened the door.

"You called my office earlier to ask if I could come and take a look at a pair of cats that could have possibly inhaled noxious fumes." came the response from the veterinarian.

"Ah, yes. Right, this way please." Khriste said as she took a step back and bowed slightly.

Khriste led the veterinarian to the room where Luna and Artemis lay resting. After a brief examination, the veterinarian declared that the cats must have been removed from the problem site before much damage could have been done to them, but just in case, he recommended that she keep a close eye on them and a prescription to flush out any possible trace chemicals.

Meanwhile, down the street from Khriste's home, Minako and Usagi were in the midst of looking for Luna and Artemis.

"Where could they've gone?" Minako sighed before cupping her hands around her mouth. "Artemis! Luna!"

"Maybe Sailor Christmas took them?" Usagi said hopefully. "I'd like to meet her too. Luna! Artemis!"

Back at the ranch, the veterinarian had left moments prior when Khriste stood at the open door.

"So, Kashokuno-san. Is there anything else I can help you with?" she said as she turned to face him.

"No, I'm fine..." Hoshi stated before mentally adding, _'...for now anyway.'_

"Luna! Artemis!" two voices chorused from just beyond the fence surrounding the ranch.

"Hmm?" Khriste wondered as she turned and saw the two blonds searching in a slightly frantic manner. She blinked once when she recognized one of them from her last period history class. "I'll be right back, Kashokuno-san."

Without even giving him a chance to respond, Khirste dashed out the door and towards the two teens. "Oi! Tsukino-san!"

"Huh? Oh, Khriste-sensei! Hi!" Usagi said as Khriste came up to her.

"You seem to be looking for someone..." Khriste stated.

"Yes, Minako and I are looking for our cats. They seem to have gone missing." Usagi said with concern sprawled on her face.

"And I take it their names are Luna and Artemis," Khriste replied, which got nods from both Minako and Usagi. "You know what? I came across a pair of cats earlier today. I had a vet come to check them over to make sure they were okay. They're fine but just need some rest... seems like they got too close to something that made them tired out and lethargic. Maybe they're the cats you're looking for?"

"Really?" Usagi asked excitedly.

"Please lead us to them." Minako pleaded.

With that, Khriste led them into her house where they paused to change into the guest slippers that Khriste had provided.

"Well, it looks like you're popular today," Hoshi said dryly.

"It happens," Khriste replied with a cheerful lilt in her voice. "Kashokuno-san, this is one of my students in last period World History, Tsukino Usagi. And this is her friend, eh, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your full name."

"Aino Minako," Minako said with a bow.

After the round of introductions, Hoshi excused himself and left the ranch. Khriste led Minako and Usagi to the room where Luna and Artemis were staying in.

"Luna, Artemis. You have visitors." Khriste said as she stuck her head in through the doorway before stepping aside and letting the two blondes in.

"Luna!" Usagi exclaimed happily as she traipsed over to the black cat and picked her up.

"Artemis, there you are!" Minako said as she scooped up her guardian. She then turned her attention to Khriste. "By the way, where did you find them?"

"Them?" Khriste stared blankly for a few seconds. "Oh, Oh! Them, right. Luna and Artemis. Well, about an hour after I left the school, I was riding past Crown Arcade when I noticed some people looking up. Did you know that someone smashed in the window of Crown Parlor? At any rate, I..."

At that point, there was a knock at the front door.

"Coming!" Khriste called out as she walked through the door to the hall which led to the front door. "Kashokuno-san was right, I sure do seem to be popular today."

Usagi and Minako stayed in the room with Luna and Artemis but placed themselves next to the ajar door.

As she opened the front door, Khriste started to greet the guest, "Hello? Setsuna-san! Long time no see! What has it been? Eight hundred, nine hundred years?"

 _'Eight to nine hundred YEARS? Setsuna-san? What in the world?'_ the two blondes thought simultaneously as they and Luna & Artemis face faulted.

"Time sure has a way of slipping by, Khriste-san." came the wry response from near the front door.

"Please, come in and get comfortable. I'll get some tea started. Green's still your favorite, right?" Khriste asked.

"I'm glad you've remembered. I see you have other guests. I hope I'm not intruding upon anything." Setsuna simply stated as she looked down at the other two pairs of outside shoes.

"No, not at all. Just a few high school girls picking up their kitties I rescued. And y'know... the kitties look a lot like the two from the past." Khriste said as she headed towards the kitchen to prepare the tea.

It was then that Usagi and Minako made their presence known to Setsuna.

"Setsuna-san! When did you meet up with Khriste-sensei?" Usagi asked. "We heard from the other room that she said something about not seeing you for hundreds of years."

"How did you meet her?" Minako added.

"We want to know!" they both chimed.

"She seems familiar somehow," Luna added just above a murmur, still unsure if she could trust Khriste.

"It's a long story," Setsuna replied cryptically.

"It's so long that it might have to be told in parts." Khriste said as she brought out a tray with four cups, a pitcher of green tea and two saucers of cold cream. As she set the tray down on the coffee table and served the tea and cream, Khriste looked at Luna and Artemis for a brief moment. With an affirmative nod from Setsuna, Khriste sat down and cleared her throat. "As you know, my name is Merrie Khriste Massu. What you ought to know, is that I'm also the Joyful Sailor Suited Holiday Soldier, Sailor Christmas."


	3. Well, That Was Unexpected. Things Aren't Adding Up Yet.

The look of surprise was evident upon the two high school girls and their guardian cats. For Usagi, it was practically a double whammy. Not only was Khriste her new world history teacher, but she just found out that she was the Sailor Senshi of the Christmas holiday.

"It is a long story, I suppose. Why don't we start with your questions first?" Khriste wondered, as she sat down with a cup of tea and looked into the four pairs of shocked eyes thoughtfully.

Usagi and Minako automatically closed their mouths in response for a moment, having been about to bombard the teacher together. However, Luna was the first to find her voice after the shock started to wear off.

"Why don't we remember you like yourself or Sailor Christmas?" came the obvious first question.

"Well, the first half would be a given. I wasn't known as Merrie Khriste Massu back then. As for why you don't remember me as Sailor Christmas, I can't answer that."

"What? Why not?" Minako cried out, her voice colored with disappointment and a tiny bit of frustration.

"Because of reasons best left buried for the moment," Setsuna replied, resting her cup between her hands on the table.

"But..."

"Minako," Artemis warned, trying to prevent potential rudeness. However, his golden-haired charge ignored the attempt, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"How are you..."

"Here, give me your hand," Khriste said as she put down her cup and extended her own hand. As Minako touched Khriste's hand, she jerked it back. There was a spark of warmth and happiness that rushed through her body, but quickly dissipated when Minako withdrew her hand. Minako once more grasped Khriste's hand once she got over the initial shock. "This feeling you're experiencing happens every time someone gets in physical contact with me. It's something that those like me have... had."

A look of sadness, loneliness, and longing washed over Khriste's face for the briefest of moments before being replaced with a graceful smile.

"There are no others like me, as I'm the only survivor when my home star became uninhabitable when I was just a child. Or at least that's what I have come to terms with for most of two thousand years."

"No way. Two thousand years? That'd make you..." Usagi blurted out, before realizing what she was about to say and stopping herself. Her face turned a few deep shades of red.

"...Ancient by Earth standards." Khriste finished the sentence with a nod.

"I can vouch for just over a thousand of those years," Setsuna added. "Though she was a valuable part of Queen Serenity's court before I became Sailor Pluto."

"What happened to your home?"

"That is a story for another time, I'm afraid. As I recall, there were more Sailor Senshi than just the four of us. Next time we all meet, I'll explain things further." Khriste picked up her cup once again and sipped on it before speaking again. "Now, is there anything else I can answer?"

"What do you know about that enemy that showed up at Crown Fruit Parlor?"

"Pesticite? I know very little about him... Her... It... The enemy in question seems able to change genders, but how or why is unknown to me. What I do know is that Pesticite, along with a hand full of others are related by a theme; forms of death and killing. When they showed up the first time around, they didn't have a chance to do much of anything before their leader was disposed of at the time. Pesticite's re-appearance must mean that they believe their leader is either back or in the process of coming back into the world."

"Their leader? Who was that?" Luna asked with a frown for not being able to remember any of what Khriste had mentioned.

"Other than the fact that she goes by the pseudonym of the Dark Princess, I haven't the foggiest."

"As I recall, she attempted an assassination on Queen Serenity." Setsuna murmured.

"What?" The two blonds nearly bellowed as they and the cats stared incredulously at Setsuna.

"Oh, yes. There was that. Fortunately, the attempt failed, but before the Dark Princess could be completely healed of the vile stronghold that made her a twisted, depraved person, she was practically split in two, the dark half taking off for points unknown and the human half not surviving much longer after that."

"So if she had been reborn then..."

"We must be on guard. There's no telling who this Dark Princess is or even what she looks like."

 

* * *

 

Within the confines of a large house or really small mansion as some might consider it, a dark-haired teen-aged girl slipped off her outside shoes and put on a pair of slippers as she was greeted noisily by the black tomcat that appeared to try to make the waiting butler trip over him.

"Are things all set, Madame?" the butler was attempting to ignore the cat as he held out a hand to take the girl's book bag.

"Yes, I believe they are. As of tomorrow, I shall be a student at that all-girls school." Handing the book bag to her butler, she then scowled as she picked up the cat. "Tonight, however, I'll be busy with a project in my room. I don't want any interruptions. Have dinner ready and waiting outside my door."

"Understood, Madame." the butler replied as he turned to inform the chef to start making the evening's meal.

Upon entering the master bedroom and shutting the door behind her, the tomcat lept down to the chair in front of the relatively drab vanity near the bedroom's entrance.

"An all-girls school? Seriously?" the cat asked her incredulously as he started to clean himself.

"Yes, seriously, Salem," she responded in irritation. "Although Mugen Academy was my first choice, it's still being reconstructed after whatever happened a year or so ago."

"Well, it's still an impressive, if not expensive location," Salem said between licks. If he was able to shrug in indifference, he would have.

"Whatever. It was a necessity."

Salem stopped his grooming mid-lick as he looked up at his mistress, his tongue still hanging out.

"Your face is gonna freeze that way if you keep it like that."

"I've yet to have had that happen. Besides, I'm not the one trying to get back together with their powerful half." Salem had returned his tongue into his mouth. "Are you sure that you want to do this Mamiko?"

"As serious as a heart attack. Before the night is through, I shall be back to my former glory."


End file.
